Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“I’ll be right back,” Emilia said apologetically against my lips.
“I’ll be here,” I replied. “No worries, sugar, you got the rest of your life to hang with me in the hammock.”
“Promise?”
“One hundred percent,” I replied, letting her go.
Chapter 1
Emilia
“Don’t kick the seat,” I warned as my two-year-old son fussed in the back seat.
It was nearly midnight and we’d been on the road since we finished dinner. We were both so sick of the car that I wished I could throw a fit, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury. After driving all over the western states, we were finally close to our final destination. Only an hour until we got into town and I could find a hotel for the night.
Relief at the thought of finally stopping somewhere warred with the feeling of dread and anxiety in my belly. After nearly three years away, I was finally going home to Eugene. I was looking forward to showing Rhett the place where I grew up, the parks I played at, and the house we’d lived in with the tire swing in the backyard. With every mile that brought us closer to our destination, the sense of home grew.
“I want out,” Rhett yelled, kicking the back of the seat. “Out!”
“Rhett,” I called, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. “Stop kicking the seat, bud. We’re almost there.”
“Out.”
“We’ll be there soon.”
He stopped kicking the seat, but his scowl was clear in the mirror.
“Thank you.”
“All done,” he grumbled, pressing against his shoulder straps like he was going to Hulk out of the seat.
“Sorry, bud,” I said with a grimace. “I know you are. Where’s your toys?”
“Don’t know.”
He was silent for a few minutes, pouting, but eventually he must’ve found a toy because he quietly started making car noises.
The signs grew more familiar the closer we got to town. I remembered each of the exits off the freeway and where they went, but I wondered what I’d find if I took them. How much had changed in six years? I wished that I could’ve explored for a while before I went home, but with Rhett in the back seat and my checking account quickly dwindling, I didn’t have the luxury.
By the time we pulled into a motel right off the freeway, Rhett had fallen asleep in the back seat and my shoulders were so tense it felt like they were permanently stuck up next to my ears. I parked and grabbed Rhett’s limp frame out of his car seat and lugged him into the main lobby. He was getting so big that it was a struggle to carry him anymore if he wasn’t clinging like a monkey, but I didn’t mind.
“Looks like you got your hands full,” the lady at the front desk said, smiling.
I let out a breath of relief. I’d met quite a few creepers when checking in to discount motels. After dark seemed to be the worst time for it. Men saw a woman and a baby and automatically thought we were easy prey or that I was looking for some kind of savior.
“We just need a room for the night,” I said, shifting Rhett to one arm so I could get into my purse. “Your vacancy sign is lit.”
“Plenty of rooms available,” she said, looking at her computer as she nodded. “One bed okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
“Okay, good,” she said, winking at me. “The single beds are cheaper. Oh, and I see you’re a road rewards member! Good news, that gives you a discount.”
I had no clue what a road rewards member was, but I wasn’t going to argue if it was going to save me money. Hell, I’d tap dance on the desk if she told me it would save me a few bucks.
I watched her for a few moments. “Do you think I could pay in cash?” I asked, biting the inside of my cheek. Usually, the hotels didn’t let you pay in cash. They had to have a credit card on file in case you trashed the room—but that was the thing—I didn’t want any digital record of my stay. Not this close to home.
“You okay, hun?” she asked, glancing behind me at the door.
“I’d just rather not use a credit card,” I said, smiling weakly.
She looked at me and then down at Rhett. “Okay,” she said with a firm nod. “Now don’t be tellin’ anyone, but for you, we’ll make an exception—just this once.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, trying and failing to hide my relief.
After signing in and giving her the cash, she hurried around the desk to open the front door for me. “Now, your room’s just a couple doors down from the lobby, hun,” she said, pointing. “So you don’t have to go carrying that boy through the dark parking lot.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, the words catching a little in my throat. When was the last time a person had done something kind for me? I couldn’t remember.